The beautiful Phylicia Rashad was recently interviewed by our very own OJ Williams (@ojwilliams4). She talks about her love for the arts and travel as well as future projects she has in store! Check out the Q&A right here!
JM: How was it working with Tyler Perry?
PR: I enjoyed working with him. He's a director who knows what he wants, but he's still open to collaboration. I enjoyed the Tyler Perry studios I enjoyed working there. Things went very smoothly, the people were very professional and you feel very much at home, at least I did.
JM: Obviously you've had a long amazing career, can you tell us a little bit about how you've been able to maintain such a long successful career and maintain your relationships in Hollywood?
PR: Relationships in Hollywood, truthfully, I work so much in Hollywood, but the truth is, the first thing I would attribute it to is grace and the second to effort.
JM: You obviously have a love for Broadway. Where does your love for the stage come from and what makes you keep coming back to it? PR: This is a discipline in which I trained so it's just a part of life, but music was my first discipline in which I trained, but the primary discipline bases everything that I do from theater training and I love it. I just love it and I was very fortunate to participate in programs with teenagers in Houston, Texas at the Alley Theater and fortunate enough to study theater at Howard University at a time when Howard University had a college of Fine Arts and I got to study with the most amazing people with instruction in an academic environment where I enjoyed social life and everything else as well. So I associate with all those things and I just love it. I love the work, I love the people, I love the discipline.
JM: Tell us a funny story from the set of Good Deeds.
PR: We were filming the scene with the office party with Wilamena, which is where her younger son Lucas is coming at the brothers fight right? Well before the brothers fight the younger son Lucas is mine and goes off on the mother and he says something that no son should ever say to his mother that no persom should ever say to the parent and the way the script was written as soon as he said the thing he shouldn't have said his brother inetrvened. Well I was inspired to do something that had not been written in the script so I asked this director can we do this in the scene and he said ok so this time when the bvrother said what he shouldn't have said, the son said what he shouldn't have said I slapped him and slapped him hard and Mr. Perry said "ooooooookay".
JM: I can see him saying that too.
PR: He did he said "OOOOOOOKKKAYYYYY" we ended up doing a number of takes in which Brian White with his adorable self gets slapped in the face. Question: Oh my gosh only you Answer: No only Brain and only Mr. Perry and what was really funny was the first time I did it, the first time he got slapped Thandie Newton said "WHOOAAHHHHHHHH" and everybody else goes "WWWOOOAHHHHHH" and then they fell out laughing they all fell out laughing because nobody expected it.
JM: Hilarious, I was not expecting that. So obviously you're on the Cosby's a comic television show, how do you feel about the lack of divesity on television today?
PR: Well there's a lack of a few things on television today.
JM: Well among other things I'll suggest there's a lack of scripted television, all those reality shows, theres so much.
PR : But that's going to change I think. The season coming up is going to afford viewers, a very interesting choice. I think that they're imaginative. Creative writing is coming back and I think with that comes non-traditional casting which is casting where people allow themselves to be imaginative. I think that will make a little bit of a difference. The cosby show is one of a kind. I don't know that there will ever be anything like it although there have been a number of shows that have been formulated around it I think Mr Cosby is a sensible person and his sensibilities and Jay Sandrich's huge experience as a director and Marcy Carcey and Tom Warner's diligence as producers, that was just a dynamite team and we just have to repeat that.
JM: If the opportunity ever presented itself would you return to television or are you finished?
PR: Yes I could. I would as a matter of fact that's something I'm going to do. I've filmed a part that's been picked up for mid season.
JM: Oh congratulations.
PR: Thank you very much. It's a very intelligent well written show. It's suspenseful, a bit of a thriller. I look forward to working with this team of produers, writers, and directors because they're all intellieent people, creative people, imaginative people and I think its going to be very good.
JM: Now at Jones a lot of times we focus on fashion and beauty and I must say you have amazing skin, how do you maintain such pretty skin?
PR: Its not crazy it's just full and that's something we manage it by cleansing and rest. I'm planning a vacation now, haven't had one in several years. I've got to change that, have to have a vacation.
JM: I'll recommend some places.
PR: I'll think of someplace wonderful to go. I'd like to go to Istanbul. I think I'd like to see the country side of Turkey. I think i'd like to see Ethiopia. There's some far away places I'd really love. I mean everyone has a suggestion of what I'd like to see or do but there are places I'd love to see. I'd love to see Petra Yes, I'd love to see that and experience that. I saw an exihibition at the Metroplitan Mesum in New York. It was artifacts, sculptures, from Petra but even beyond Petra, Petra was one but it was the only one that civilization over there, the history over there is beyond what we study, beyond what we hear about. We're so busy listening to beyond what people are listening to or whose leading who. We don't really care about the finer traits that really matter.
JM: So after your finished directing your play in Chicago whats next, I know you have your tv show are you headed back to New York for more plays?
PR: Well I'm going back to New York for a little for a few days then I'll be in Atlanta rehearsing with Kenny Leon with his theater company True Colors. He is presenting Guess Whose Coming to Dinner. It's coming to Atlanta and he asked me to join that company and I love working with it so there I go.
JM: Well congrats I wanna thank you for taking the time for speaking with us and calling me back I'm looking forwad to the show and I have to pop down to Chicago to see the play.
PR: Oh yeah please do.
JM: When do you guys run through?
PR: Were having our first preview this Saturday so I'm in technical rehearsals now, very long days. It's opening June 9th and it runs through the beginning of August.
JM: Awesome. Well congratulations on all your success and I appreciate it.
PR: Thank you very much.
-Blake Herbert
